


Complimentary

by prancingllamacorns



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, The Author Regrets Nothing, full disclaimer i haven't seen season 4 but i will soon, kinda filling in some of the blanks too on what lin's doing, korra is a dummy we stan, no co author was used in the making of this fic, ofc runs the task force at first, police work, tenzin being a smartass, tenzin is trying okay, the author is proud of some things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26715460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prancingllamacorns/pseuds/prancingllamacorns
Summary: Haika struggles to balance her dedication to the Republic City Police Department, and it's Chief, while also trying to learn to control her suddenly developing powers.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haika and Lin discuss the rise of the Equalists and receive some curious news about a arrest.

“You can’t defeat an ideology with metalbending, Lin,” Haika laid her hand gently on the older woman’s shoulders, feeling her relax under her touch. “Especially this one. It needs more of a political touch.”

The chief of police bristled, “I know how to be political” turning away from the board to face her companion, green eyes narrowing. The firebender across from her tried her best to keep her lips from twitching upwards, “What’s so funny?”

“Lin, you’re not exactly known for your diplomacy.” She spoke, smiling brightly at her now. The metal bender sighed in defeat, rubbing at her brows with one hand. “Let me take the lead on this case, okay,” Haika spoke, sitting back down in her chair. Lin looked back up again, watching her partner’s gaze drift across the room from one piece of decoration to the next.

Haika had an official office space, but it was barren, lacking her paperwork, and her chair. And although none of the officers dared claim her office as their own, they all knew that it wasn’t being used. 

“I’m capable of it,” she spoke up again, feeling kind of offended by Lin’s lack of a response. She always felt very aggressive over any perceived underestimation of her strengths. 

The chief of police put her palm on Haika’s shoulder, drawing her attention. “I’m not underestimating you capability, Haika,” she spoke. The firebender’s eyes finally met hers, deep brown focusing on her. Eye contact wasn’t inherently uncomfortable for the metalbender, but knowing that it was more intimate in nature for her friend made her break away from her gaze first sometimes. “I trust you to do this,” 

Haika smiled gently at her, drawing her feet off the ground and crossing them into her preferred seating position. Returning the smile caused that feeling to rise in Lin’s chest again, the one that made her turn away so she could catch her breath. 

“Chief! There’s been a disturbance in the twelfth sector, we brought some gal in who’s claiming to be the avatar. She’s demanding to talk to Councilman Tenzin.” Immediately, Lin’s expression melted into a tired frown, while Haika felt curiosity bubbling up in her. 

“We’ll talk to her.” 

* * *

“Let’s see,” Lin read off the arrest report, which she had procured from the anxious beat cop who had been standing just outside the door. “Multiple counts of destruction of private and city property. Not to mention evading arrest,” the chief slammed the clipboard down onto the table next to the detainee, “You’re in a whole mess of trouble, young lady.”

Haika was watching from the doorway, leaning against the frame, ankles and arms crossed. But she knew as soon as Lin called the woman “ _ young lady” _ that she would be getting off easy. As much as the chief of police liked to pose as a tough on crime officer, she’d always held a soft spot for youths. Although it didn’t stop her from verbally eviscerating them at every opportunity.

“But there were some thugs threatening a helpless shopkeeper!” The detainee spoke up, blue eyes wide and tone defensive. She definitely looked like she could be the avatar. Her water tribe traditional style furs hinted at that. It wasn’t exactly the usual Republic City streetwear. 

“Can it! You should have called the police and stayed out of the way.” Lin spoke up again, turning away from the young woman momentarily and making eye contact with Haika, nodding gently as her cue to take over. 

The firebender pushed away from the wall, drawing the brown-haired woman’s attention. “Who started the fight?” Haika spoke, stepping closer to the table until the light shone up to her waist. 

Lin stepped back out of the light, but turned immediately to face Korra again. It was a well practiced routine between them filled with barely perceptible cues and signals. 

“I did, but they were threatening that shopkeeper!” The sudden rise in intonation caused Haika to flex fingers uncomfortably. “And I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. It’s my duty to help people,” she insisted. Lin circled around the table when she noticed her partner’s momentary discomfort, arms crossed and frown deepened. “You see I’m the avatar.” 

“Oh, I’m well aware of who you are,” Lin spoke, giving her best shot at the physical manifestation of the phrase ‘unimpressed’, while Haika leaned back momentarily, feeling a lecture coming. “And your avatar title might impress some people,” she continued, gesturing lightly with her hands, “but not me.” 

Haika felt the tension in the room as the young avatar broke eye contact momentarily with Lin. Before she could intervene to break some of the tension, however, Korra spoke up again. “Alright fine,” she steeled her eyes, “then I wanna talk to whoever’s in charge.”

“You’re talking to her,” Haika growled out, a relaxed expression morphing into an intense gaze, only slightly undercut by her inability to make eye contact with the avatar when she turned her attention from Lin to her and then back.

Lin pulled out the metal chair from where it was sitting tucked against the table, it’s metal legs scratching against the floor. A few years ago the sound would have bothered Haika, but something about working with the metal bender had made the sound of metal moving comforting instead of grating. 

“I’m Chief Beifong.” She spoke, and although her face didn’t betray any of her feelings, Haika knew that she was secretly pleased at the surprise on the avatar’s face at the reveal. 

Lin relished, to a certain extent, the feeling of surprise when people learned of her high status after they had been willfully rude. Haika, on the other hand, always felt strongly against it, upset whenever people, especially men, underestimated her partner. She had been climbing the ladder with her for the better half of a decade and was fiercely proud of Lin’s achievements. 

“Wait you’re Chief Beifong? Lin Beifong?” Korra finally spoke up again, her voice much softer now, still tinged with surprise. “You’re Toph’s daughter!” She exclaimed, leaning back in her chair slightly with excitement. 

The chief of police, on the other hand, wasn’t as entertained. “What of it?” 

Haika had a bad feeling about the assumptions this little one was making. Feeling the strain on her senses, the firebender braced herself against the table, palms gripping the edge. Lin spared her a softened glance, but the avatar simply ignored the movement, still speaking animatedly. 

“Well then why are you treating me like a criminal?” She said, eyes shifting away momentarily from the chief, whose head gaze snapped back to the young woman, eyes narrowing “Avatar Aang and your mother were friends. They saved the world together” It was in that moment, that the impression cemented in Haika’s head that this girl  _ did not know when to close her mouth _ .

Haika interrupted their conversation, eyes making solid contact with the avatar, hoping to convey a message to her. “That’s ancient history. Lin doesn’t have to cover for you because your previous incarnation was friends with her mom.”

“You can’t just waltz in here and dole out vigilante justice like you own the place,” Lin gestured, brows furrowing together. Korra leaned forward again, her forearms resting on the table. The proximity to Haika’s arms made her skin crawl with sensations, but the firebender didn’t give into the urge to move away. 

Suddenly, the metal opening of the door slid open, revealing one of the younger officer’s face. “Chief, Councilman Tenzin is here,” he spoke and Haika felt the woman tense up next to her in frustration. “Let him in,” she sighed, standing up from the chair. The back of her hand, covered in metal armor, drifted across Haika’s tunic, relaxing the woman momentarily, as the door slipped open for the councilman. 

“Tenzin!” The avatar spoke with an undertone of joy at seeing the airbender walking through the doorway. “Sorry, I got a little sidetracked,” she continued, at least feeling bashful enough to look down at her thumbs for a moment. 

Haika hoisted herself to her full height again, taking her place just behind the metal bender, whose arms were crossed as she stood in front of her old friend.

Tenzin sighed deeply at the young avatar’s words, clearly uncomfortable with the position as well. Then he shifted his attention to the two women in front of him. “Lin, you are looking radiant as usual,” he spoke, before turning to the other woman, “Haika, I’ve heard your lightning bending has become quite impressive. You must show me sometime” The woman smiled at him gently, a silent thank you for his compliment.

“Cut the garbage, Tenzin,” Lin growled, eyes narrowing at the bending master, who turned his attention back to her. “Why is the avatar in Republic City?” She questioned, hands coming to rest against each other behind her back, as she regained her professional composure. “I thought you were supposed to be moving down to the south pole to train her?” 

“My relocation has been delayed,” the councilman spoke, expression mimicking Lin’s serious tone. This had been a business discussion, although it wasn’t hard to miss the natural animosity between them. “The avatar on the other hand, will be heading back to the south pole immediately. Where she will stay  _ put. _ ”

“But-” the avatar attempted to interrupt, but was cut off by Tenzin before she could get a single word in.

“If you would be so kind as to drop the charges against Korra,” he continued, raising his chin to make eye contact with the chief again, who stood stoically between the two. “I will take full responsibility for today’s regrettable events, and cover all the damages.”

The chief of police glanced back for a moment to the young avatar sitting behind her, contemplating the offer, when Haika’s fingers tapped against the sleeves of her armor, encouraging her to take the deal.

“Fine,” she sighed finally, unlocking the restraints around Korra’s wrists with a flick of her wrist before crossing her arms again and turning to Tenzin. “Get her out of my sight, and out of my city.” 

“Always a pleasure, Lin.” Tenzin spoke, feeling confident to antagonise the chief officer again as soon as Korra trotted up beside him, “Pema’s invited you to tea on Sunday, Haika, the kids would love to see you.” 

The firebender felt a vibration rattle through her partner, who was obviously doing her part to keep her emotions under control. “I’m sorry, Tenzin, but Lin and I have a lot of work to do this weekend. Maybe another time.” 

Lin hardly ever talked about her feelings, and she had never gone into detail on how things had ended between her and Tenzin. But the brief description that had been given had caused even Haika to build some anger at him at first. 

Eventually, the two had begun to talk with each other and Haika had discovered that the man had obviously changed over the last few decades. And although how he treated Lin was a sore spot between them, they had built up a friendly relationship.

Haika refused to interfere between the few discussions the two shared, not wanting to give an indication of picking sides. Although, Tenzin seemed perfectly aware of where she stood should it come to blows between them. Still, he enjoyed sometimes bothering Lin by reminding her of their friendship.

As she was leaving, Lin motioned at the young avatar she was watching her, and the avatar mocked her movement with a ridiculous expression, causing Haika to laugh at their childishness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome y'all. if you notice any mistakes, feel free to start a petition to kill me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haika proposes the idea of a task force to the Police Chief, who seems to approve of the idea.

One of the most convenient things about firebending was the ability to reheat food at will. Haika could hardly imagine having to brave the police’s hallways everytime Lin had forgotten to eat her lunch on time, instead poring over filed reports. The woman was hardly an incredible multitasker, and was prominently featured on Haika’s list of people who need to be reminded to eat. 

“Any news on Amon?” The firebender asked, palms heating the metal containers that the chief of police had bought her for the winter holidays. The best way to get Lin to eat food was by forcing her into discussion. 

The metal bender shook her head thoughtfully, picking up the opened box filled with noodles from the table. “We just don’t have enough resources to reach the top without neglecting all the crimes they’re committing.”

“Hmm,” Haika murmured thoughtfully, bringing her fork up and accidentally tapping some of the sauce onto her nose, which she quickly brushed away. “Maybe we could petition the council for aid? Maybe recruiting some new officers into a task force.” 

Lin looked up from her food, placing the box and utensils down onto her desk, where she’d simply brushed aside reports to make room. “It’s definitely an option. If you can work out all the kinks we can go to the council with it.” 

“Perfect,” Haika exclaimed excitedly, reaching into her neatly sorted stack of papers to pull out a vanilla folder. “I’ve already designed the system. We can use article 5 subsection 14 to prosecute them if they hurt anyone,” Lin watched the woman talk about her plan, wondering when she’d had the time to plan all of this out. Ruffling through all of her assorted papers, Haika continued her explanation, largely ignoring the look on her partner’s face. “It was passed last year and is perfect for organized crime. I just need to let the task force fly under the radar and I need suitable officers.”

“Take any that you need.”

The statement piqued Haika’s attention. “Are you sure,” she questioned. Everyone knew Lin was fiercely protective of her officers, having trained and recruited most of them herself.

“I want this done right, Haika,” The chief of police insisted, “You make a list of who you need, and I’ll take a lot at your documents. We can schedule a closed council session this weekend. Deal?” Haika nodded, lips quirking into a thankful smile, which Lin returned conservatively. 

At that moment, her intercom buzzed announcing the arrival of a special message from Councilman Tenzin, destroying the chief’s relaxed position. 

“I’ll come pick it up immediately, officer.” She spoke into the small device and made to stand up from her desk, but was stopped by Haika’s hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her back down.

With a deep sigh, the firebender insisted “I’ll get it. You finish your food.” Lin nodded once, settling down again and picking up her fork again, holding it more stiffly now. The chief of police stabbed aggressively at her food, pausing to look up when she noticed that her partner hadn’t left the room yet. Haika smiled at her graciously, “finish your food or I’ll take it as an insult to my cooking,” letting out a chuckle before exiting the officer’s office.

Haika recognized the officer on mail duty as one of the new recruits, Yue, who had been recruited a month ago by Haika personally, when one of the officers was promoted to detective by Lin Beifong. 

“Hi Yue,” she spoke, waving a hand to catch the young woman’s attention. Although she had grown up in Republic City, the young lady had clear water tribe roots, from her skin tone to the clear fondness for blue when it came to clothing decisions. She was also always the one insisting the cops go to the seaweed noodlery for their lunch breaks.

“Officer Haika,” she responded, snapping into a more upright position, shoulders rolling back. Stifling a laugh at her intense reaction, Haika inquired as to the message which had been delivered to Lin. “Apologies, but I’ve been told to give it to the Chief directly.” 

Some of the other officers had been drawn from their paperwork to watch the odd exchange. It was well known in the office that Haika had as much jurisdiction over any item or investigation as Lin Beifong, and anyone who took issue with it could speak to the chief directly, which most avoided as best as they could.

“I assure you I’ll take it directly to her, Yue.” The recruit looked nervously from the small scroll to the officer standing in front of her before finally relenting, giving the message to her. Haika made pointed eye contact with the blue eyed woman for a moment, “thank you,” Yue nodded in response, before turning back to her station, and putting on her headphones again to monitor the radio frequencies. 

The firebender was unsurprised to find her partner standing up from her seat, drawing the door shut behind her as soon as Haika walked into the room. “That took a while, get caught up with anything?” 

“Just some weird instructions from Tenzin.” Haika spoke, reaching out the scroll to the chief of police, who grumbled under her breath about the airbending master. “He said that it should be given directly to you.” 

Taking the scroll from her outstretched hand, Lin took no delay in opening and reading the message, while her partner moved to straighten out the files spread across Lin’s side of the desk, and pick up the metal container to put it into her backpack. 

“Bad news,” the woman spoke up eventually, crumbling the message in her hands. Haika lifted her gaze, nervous about Lin’s reaction to the message. “The avatar’s staying in Republic City.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Haika exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly and ignoring the frown her partner directed towards her pointedly. “She can join the task force!” 

“You can’t possibly be thinking about that, she’s reckless and irresponsible.” Lin grumbled, arms crossed across her chest, metal scraping against one another. “Letting you take a team of capable agents on a dangerous mission and letting a sheltered teenager with all the power in the world join you are two different things.”

“Korra just needs some guidance, Lin.” Haika insisted, stepping closer to the chief, head tilted slightly so she could maintain eye contact for a moment before looking away again. “Her heart’s in the right place, you know that. Letting her do something useful might help her learn some things about her role as avatar here.”

The chief growled low in her throat, making the firebender bristle for a moment. Noticing her reaction instantly, she mumbled an apology. “It’s- it’s no problem,” Haika insisted, studying the chief’s officer badge, but fully aware of Lin’s gaze on her. 

With a deep sigh that caused her chest to shift, Lin pulled the brown-eyed officer’s attention back to her. “If she wants to she can join you, but know that I’ll keep an eye on her work.” 

“You’re an angel, Lin,” her partner beamed at her, causing the chief of police’s gaye to shift away suddenly. 

Coughing uncomfortably once, Lin shifted the topic of conversation to the purported press interview the avatar wanted to hold to introduce herself to the city. “Are you okay to work late tonight?” 

“I don’t go home until you do,” Haika reiterated her ongoing shift work policy. She had started insisting on it after the second all-nighter Lin had pulled as chief of police, and had been implemented ever since, sometimes to the officer’s joy and sometimes to her disappointment.

* * *

The two had been working tirelessly, rearranging the officer’s schedule for Korra’s surprise announcement the next day. So far, Lin had only left once to get drinks, returning with a coffee for herself and a tea for Haika, who had never really picked up the habit of drinking coffee, and setting them down onto the desk.

“We could move officer Wang here,” Haika moved the purple star-shaped pin onto the part of the map highlighted in blue, tapping her foot in a consistent rhythm. “It could clear up officer Song,” she placed the blue anchor shaped pin into the town’s center, next to the green pin, “but Officer Wang would have to patrol four sectors, with only Officer Saki nearby.” 

Lin was sitting in her chair, coffee in hand, bending a pin absentmindedly with the other. Her partner had already shed her uniforms jacket and belt, opting instead to wander around in the shirt she wore underneath. 

Initially, in her years on the force, there had been complaints by other cadets about her seeming refusal to adhere to the dress code. It took a confrontation featuring 3 cadets, two of which were Lin and Haika, and the Chief of Police for the complaints to finally die down. 

“You know you could always join me there,” the police chief mused, looking up at the woman over her cup as she turned fully to face her. Haika only rubbed at her eyes forcefully in response, and Lin could feel that she was gearing up to explain her situation again to her. “I’m not saying you have to.” Haika exhaled through her mouth, some of the tension fading from her position, “but I’ll be right there the entire time, and we can go get lunch afterwards, your pick.”

Tapping her foot once on the floor, crossing her arms, the firebender feigned annoyance briefly before a smile won her over, “Lin you always do this.” 

“Do what?” She answered flatly, although Haika didn’t miss the smile tugging lightly at the corners of her lips. The brown-haired woman shook her head, a dull throbbing pain beginning to settle itself into her cheekbones. “How about this,” the armored woman continued, seemingly determined to push her partner out of her comfort zone a little bit more, “you think about it, and we can always pull Song last minute, okay?” 

“Alright, I’ll think about it,” Haika finally conceded, uncrossing her arms before moving Officer Wang and Officer Song’s pins back to their original position on the. When she turned her head back towards the desk, another pin whizzed past her head, embedding itself in the map hanging on the wall. 

The firebender groaned, “Lin the point of the pins is that we can always know whose is whose,” she spoke, even though her index finger ran thoughtfully over the small fire symbol her partner had bent the shape into.

“Well, it’s the only one that changes, isn’t it,” Lin made brief eye contact with Haika as she narrowed her eyes at her, giving her a slightly lopsided grin. 

The officer shook her head fondly, moving away from the board, and towards where she had discarded her jacket, now that the whole procedure had been seemingly set up for tomorrow. “I was thinking,” the chief spoke up again, her partner humming an indication that she was listening as she pulled the jacket over her shoulders and began buttoning the front. “Maybe we should make it official, just for the public?”

“What do you mean?” Haika’s brows furrowed, hands dropping to her sides and brown eyes rising to meet the metalbenders green ones. 

Lin’s confidence seemed to waver. “Bring you up to co-Chief, or something like that,” she stood up abruptly as she spoke, almost knocking over both her mug and the chair behind her. “Just so that you can have the title officially,” she waved her hand, “less need for me to assert your authority all the time.” 

“I’m happy with Captain, less attention on me all the time,” the firebender smiled nervously, eyes focusing on her mug, tapping her fingers on the rim of it. “And there’s hardly a person around here who isn’t too scared of you to challenge me,” the nervousness in her expression melted slightly, although her shoulders were still bunched around her neck.

“I can bring you up to Deputy Police Chief, god knows Tenzin would appreciate me finally appointing one,” Lin regretted pulling the councilman into the conversation as the air soured between them. “Just… consider it,” the chief of police insisted, walking around the desk and pulling the mug gently from her partner’s hand.

The brown-haired woman was pulled out her trance, “sure are giving me a lot to consider today,” she hummed. 

“Well, I’d say this request has less of a deadline than the other,” Lin smiled at her, putting her left palm on the firebender’s shoulder, causing her to look towards it momentarily before making eye contact with the police chief again, eyes darting about her face in her usual manner. “But we’re done for today,” she assured her, hand falling back to her side as Haika reached around herself to tighten the belt over her jacket. “It does mean you’d get a custom uniform.”

Her friend raised a single eyebrow at her, “this is just a trick so you can help design new clothes for me, right?” Although she had never confronted her about it, Haika was observant of the little changes made annually to the officer’s uniforms whenever the firebender moved upwards a rank, laxed regulations and more comfortable uniforms seemed to follow the officer around.

“I’m not a designer, Haika, don’t be ridiculous,” she insisted, but Haika didn’t miss the grin tugging at her lips. “Do you want me to bring you home?”

The woman in question pulled her bag over her shoulder, walking alongside the chief of police through the station's angular hallways. “Lin, it’s almost midnight and we live on the opposite side of the city.”

“We can use the cables to get there and back,” the green eyed woman suggested, watching her partner out of the corner of her eye, knowing that she sometimes missed using the cables as transportation.

“Didn’t we agree we wouldn’t do that again,” the hand gripping the strap of her shoulder bag clenched and unclenched. Lin frowned, also remembering the drama their travel had caused when she had first risen into the public eye. The two of them continued silently for a moment, finally reaching the exit of the police station.

Finally, huffing rather petulantly, the chief of police relented “alright, but I’m still taking you home. I’d feel more comfortable if I knew you were safe,” she added in a low mumble as she pulled the keys from where they were attached at her hip with her bending to lock the building up. 

“Why’s that?” Haika asked in a tone that caused Lin to bunch up and consider her next words carefully. 

“I’m worried about the Equalists,” Lin spoke quietly, voice tinged with concern. “And I’m worried they might start attacking anytime. To,” she grit her teeth, still facing away from the firebender as she reattached the keys, “send a message.”

Instead of the lecture on her protective nature or the concept of ideological beliefs that she had expected from her partner, Haika instead took a deep breath, walking up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist as the chief of police turned to face her. Hesitantly, she reciprocated the movement, looping her arms under the woman’s arms and gripping her shoulders. “I know this is scary,” she whispered, her cheek rubbing against hers, “but we’ll all be okay.” Pulling back from her movement, hands falling back to her side, Haika adopted a more playful look again. “But I’ll let you take me back home tonight if it’ll make you feel better.” 

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we all know lin would've been a fan if tarrlok wasn't such a slimeball.


	3. Chapter 3

Lin Beifong was upset, more so than usually. The young avatar, Korra, hadn’t prepared any statement at all for her first press meeting, which she had revealed when the chief of police had questioned her on her lack of papers for the setup. Not quite able to patiently articulate the need to prepare such a public appearance in the way she knew Haika could, she just sent her a stern glance. 

“I wish your partner were here,” The avatar grumbled, causing the chief’s eyes to snap to her, arms crossed and glare pasted onto her features. Tenzin, thankfully, put his hand on the brown-haired girl’s shoulder, causing her to deflate slightly and instead pout at the ground. 

At that moment, Haika moved up next to the police officer, having appeared from behind one of the courthouse’s many twisting corridors. Lin turned briefly towards her, frown melting into a thankful smile which the woman returned tapping twice on the metal on the back of her palm. 

“Good morning Avatar Korra,” she spoke up again, hands folding behind her back and posture straightening out. The young woman looked up at her, flashing her a small smile that the firebender returned, albeit stiffly.

Tenzin, seeming to know something that Lin didn’t, insisted the two go and introduce Korra to the crowd, since it was 10 minutes to the hour already. Features pulling back into a formal mask again, the chief of police nodded solemnly following the airbending master out the large double doors. 

“I’m sorry about being so rude earlier this week,” Korra apologized, looking bashfully towards the ground again, and seeming as if the apology had been hard to bring across her lips. 

Haika smiled at her after a moment, eyes moving across her face briefly, meeting hers, before drifting back to a point on the wall behind her. “I’m sorry too, I get you were frustrated and didn’t mean anything rude by it. Gotta deal with a lot of sexist asshats so I get kinda defensive,” she explained. “Really you gotta apologize to Lin though.”

The avatar pinched her brows together in a manner that reminded her so much of her partner that Haika couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her throat. At that moment, Tenzin stuck his head through the doorway again, seeming annoyed, and called for Korra to come out. The brown-eyed girl hurried, over, looking bashful again at seemingly forgetting her cue.

The sound of shutters clicking and the intermingled voices of the many bystanders watching the press meeting began to irritate Haika as soon as Korra left the building, leaving her alone inside the vast space. 

Instead of allowing her mind to continue to focus on the multitude of sounds from outside, she instead tried listening inwards, hearing the sounds of the large ornate building. Although she realized soon there wasn’t very much to listen to.

Bracing herself against the wall and beginning to hum softly to distract herself, Haika stayed calm throughout most of the conference until suddenly she heard a rustling sound towards her right, causing her to jump into action and move slowly in that direction, appearing visibly only for a moment through the half opened door.

* * *

Lin noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye, maintaining her stance despite feeling immediately concerned over what her partner had seen inside of the building that made her take such a defensive position.  _ She can handle it _ ,  _ no need to cause a panic _ , she calmed, although the way her jaw had set made Tenzin, always the intuitive one, suspicious and seemingly concerned. 

As soon as the press meeting was over, the Avatar predictably getting hammered by questions she didn’t prepare for, Lin moved behind into the building again, leaving her charges behind for the time being. 

Running down the hallway she had seen her move towards, the chief of police called the officer’s name, before remembering her seismic sense and using that instead to locate Haika, who seemed to be located down the hallway to the right along with two other people, all moving rapidly. 

“Hey Lin,” Haika grinned at her, when Lin raced around the corner of the hallway she had followed the attacker down. The firebender was standing beside a masked figure who was laying on the ground, seemingly passed out. “How’d the conference go?” 

“Terribly,” the chief spoke, calming her breathing at the assurance that her partner was safe before moving along with her to handcuff the suspect, and propping them up against the wall. 

Their head coverings were decorated oddly, two green tinged lenses attached to the front, allowing them to see through the fabric. Along with that there was a metal tube circling around the back and down to their mouths, where it dipped into the fabric, and a red circle stitched neatly onto the forehead.

“You think those tubes are for breathing?” the firebender asked, standing beside Lin, eyes still fixed on the person in front of her, whom she had fought with. The chief of police hummed thoughtfully, gaze fixating again on the bronze tubes encircling their head. 

“Only one way to find out,” she spoke up moving forward to pull the mask off his face. The suspect raised their hand, which was wearing some kind of mechanical glove to Lin’s shoulder as she crouched down. 

Before the chief could move out of the way, the glove had powered up, but Haika intercepted the movement, placing her palm over the circular center of the energy release from the palm and absorbing the electrical shock, directing it into the marble ground, which began to smoulder and crack. 

Twisting their arm towards the ground, Haika hissed “try it again and I’ll let the shock go into you,” at the suspect as they let out a cry of pain at the unnatural positioning of the limb.

Lin glanced at Haika, whose eyes were boring into the green lenses in front of her, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and twitchy, but forcing herself to maintain her composure. 

“How about we take him back to headquarters,” the chief of police mumbled, capturing the firebender’s attention again as she glanced quickly at her before breaking eye contact again to gaze down at the charred ground beneath her right hand before nodding slightly. “I’ll send for Officer Song,” Lin assured her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder before standing up and moving away, pulling her pager out of the pouch attached to her side and scrolling through the frequencies to find the officer. 

* * *

“I hope we made the right call keeping this from Tenzin,” Lin spoke, comforting the brown-haired bender that stood beside her. Her arms were crossed across her chest, but as she glanced towards Haika, her features softened briefly. 

The firebender hummed quietly, not looking away from the suspect, hidden behind the one way glass, despite feeling Lin’s gaze on her. “The more Tenzin tries to control Korra, the more she rebels,” she asserted. She still felt endlessly nervous about having spoken up against the chief of police’s wishes, even though Lin seemed to trust in her confidence and heard her out as soon as she spoke up. “I was just the same as a child.” 

The metal bender huffed petulantly at the statement, “you’re not like that brat kid,” she spoke, feeling herself bristle further when Haika merely chuckled at her statement. “What?” She challenged, turning fully to face her now, brows furrowed.

“You didn’t even know me back then, Lin,” Haika assured her, right hand coming to rest on her shoulder in a comforting manner, which caused the green-eyed woman to unwind slightly. “And most of us are just a product of our circumstances,” she continued, turning away again, gaze landing on the detainee, who was twiddling nervously with his thumbs, gaunt looking face revealed from underneath the mask on which Wan had been sent to analyze in the laboratory. 

“Profound,” the chief of police grumbled, resolving to stand silently beside her for a while. The woman was taking the suspect in completely, seeming to notice things that her partner seemed unaware of, eyes roving up and down his form and pausing at random points only to narrow briefly. 

When she seemed satisfied for now with the results of her apparent search, her gaze found hers again, meeting her eyes briefly. And despite her higher adult sense, Lin felt herself blushing lightly at being caught staring. The firebender, however, seemed completely unbothered by it. “Thanks for coming to my rescue, knight in shining armor,” the woman grinned, tapping twice on the metal on the back of Lin’s palm again, causing the woman to shift away slightly, which caused her grin to lessen. 

“It’s no problem,” the chief of police spoke up desperately, trying somehow to assure her without words that her embarrassment at the situation was entirely her fault. “I was just worried about you.” 

Haika rolled her eyes, a bad habit she seemed to have picked up from her partner. “I’m a big girl, Lin, I can protect myself.” She spoke up, although her voice didn’t have an edge to it, Lin could sense the sarcasm nonetheless, causing her to blush deeper, which went, thankfully, unnoticed. “If you’re so concerned about my physical strength you can always train me,” she teased. 

“I’ll pass, don’t want a repeat of last time.” 

“Oh come on, that was years ago!" She exclaimed, before dissolving into a fit of giggles at her partner's stern gaze. "In all fairness, I don't think Officer Song's used the training room since."


	4. Chapter 4

Probending had terrified the firebender almost her entire life. The sport itself had barely any fault for it, but whenever announcements of it came through the radio when she was idly listening to it, she found herself jumping to her feet to change the station, heart racing instantly. 

So when she realized that the address Korra had given her to meet up at was the sports arena at the edge of the city, she immediately turned to walk away, rubbing the buttons of her jacket to calm herself down.

“Hey Haika!” The firebender froze, slowly turning to face the Avatar, who was wearing a red uniform Haika could only guess was for probending tournaments. Korra moved quickly up to where she was standing on the path, skipping down the grand marble steps. “Wrong direction,” she grinned lopsidedly at her, grabbing her hand to pull her along with her back towards the domed building, stopping when she noticed that Haika hadn’t moved along with her. “Is something wrong?” she questioned, lips tugging downwards into a frown that furrowed her brows. 

“Is there somewhere else we can go?” The woman mumbled, eyes trained on the avatar’s boots where they were planted firmly on the ground, “bad memories,” she attempted a grin, only feeling the corners of her mouth lift slightly. 

Korra was still a moment before nodding, “I’ll tell the boys I’m breaking early,” she assured her, hand drifting to her shoulder, Haika indulging the contact, although it made her feel uncomfortable. “Just gimme a moment to get changed,” she smiled again, rushing back up the stairs and leaving the off-duty officer alone. 

Taking the morning off had served well so far to clear Haika’s mind, allowing her the freedom to consider the last week’s events without feeling pressured to make any decisions on it. 

Lin had agreed to it after the firebender’s repeated assurances that  _ no I’m not injured _ ,  _ yes I’ll be back by noon _ , and  _ I’ll bring lunch like I always do _ . The latter statement had made the chief of police roll her eyes but Haika liked to think it’s what tipped the scales in her favor. 

For now, the officer sat down on the edge of the elevated platform on which the arena was located, facing away from it and letting her feet dangle above the water. Briefly, she allowed herself to relish in the environment, which was not nearly as loud as what she was used to at the station. There were no sounds but the gentle lapping of the waves and the whizzing of the wind around her, and the change was calming.

She felt the footsteps approaching before her, waiting for the avatar to announce herself before delegating to respond to her. “Ready to go?” Korra spoke, causing Haika to twist her upper body to face the bender, who was wearing her more traditional water tribe attire again, arms crossed and face bright. 

“Yeah,” Haika pushed herself up into a standing position again and tugged at one of her buttons absentmindedly. “What did you have in mind,” she smiled, still thankful for Korra’s response to her refusal to go into the probending arena. 

“We can get noodles if you want!” Placing her hands back onto her hips, the avatar grinned widely, proclaiming “I haven’t eaten today and I’m starving.” 

Her enthusiasm made Haika chuckle, which seemed to satisfy her somehow, considering she began to walk ahead, the firebender taking two quick steps to catch up to her as she walked along the road that led back to the mainland.

“Sounds good, I can get Lin something too.”

The statement seemed to give Korra some pause, making her go quiet a moment before asking “you two are close, huh?” 

Haika paused as well, mulling over her response in her head. She knew the two of them seemed to have some natural instinct to conflict. Eventually she settled on honesty, telling her “yeah, we’ve known each other for years. And I promised her I’d bring food if I took the morning off.” The answer seemed to satisfy the avatar, who smiled gently at her. 

Conversation ebbed and flowed between them, at first sinking into uncomfortable silence sometimes before the other found thought of something to discuss until they reached the restaurant. But soon they had latched onto political discussion, Haika explaining some of the situation in Republic City to her while Korra interjected sometimes with questions. 

“What’ll you be having? Oh, officer Haika,” the shop owner, who was leaning forward on the counter spoke. He was an elderly water tribe resident who’d been running the store supposedly since he was a young adult. “Is there a problem?” 

Haika smiled graciously at him, eyes focused on the bridge of his nose. “I’m off duty, Jen, just gotta head back in later today,” Usually when she came to pick up food, she was only partly dressed, the uniform jacket with her insignia left back at the office or replaced with a thicker coat. But today she had to dress fully to wander around, since she hadn’t stopped by the office yet. “Korra invited me to lunch.”

The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows, “your partner know?” 

Haika rolled her eyes at him goodnaturedly, “Police partner, Jen, we’ve talked about spreading rumors before.” Korra seemed to be watching the interaction with a bemused face, surprised at how her tone had changed when addressing the elderly man. “And of course they know,” she added, not missing how the avatar glanced at her quickly, brows knitting together in confusion. “Now can you let us order?” She grinned, and Jen nodded at her, picking up a pen he had put down during their brief conversation and placing it to the notepad sitting on the counter. 

* * *

“He doesn’t know about Chief Beifong,” Haika stopped, eyes drifting across Korra’s face, chopsticks swirling around in the bowl of noodles sitting in front of her absentmindedly.

Eventually, she shrugged, beginning to spin noodles around her chopstick to eat, “What’s there to know,” she said, pulling the noodles into her mouth, eyes shifting to the metallic box she had brought and which had been filled with her second order by Jen. 

“Aren’t you guys, like, together?” Something about the tone of her voice seemed cautious, which didn’t pass Haika, although she still coughed a few times, accidentally choking on some of the noodles. Korra seemed dejected by her response, fingers tapping on the table as she spoke again, “sorry didn’t mean to suggest you were,” 

She broke off her sentence, at a loss for the vocabulary to describe what she meant. To her surprise, Haika piped up, “into girls?” she asked, Korra nodding once slowly before returning to her food, trying to seem nonchalant. “I’m glad you noticed,” she smiled, which appeared to put the avatar at ease, as her shoulders, which had been bunched up, relaxed slightly. “Lin and I aren’t… together or anything. You’re not exactly the first person to think so though.” Korra’s questioning glance prompted the firebender to reveal some more. 

“We’ve run into some… media issues before. Not everyone in Republic City is as open as you might hope,” she scratched the back of her head softly where her hair became fractionally longer. “She used to take me home with the cables whenever it got really late,” a small smile graced her lips a moment, which Korra seemed to reciprocate, “but a paparazzi caught us once,” she wrung her hands together nervously, having already pushed her empty noodle bowl aside so she could rest her elbows on the table, “it was big drama. So we didn’t say anything, stopped doing stuff like that. Eventually it died down.” 

Korra also put her empty bowl aside now, stacking it on top of her friend’s and pulling her soda closer to her instead to sip on. “I’m sorry about that,” Haika made direct eye contact with her briefly, brown eyes meeting each other as she smiled awkwardly at her. “But you guys weren’t ever,” the young woman intertwined two of her fingers and whistled to signify what she meant, Haika laughing at her antics.

“No, I don’t even know if she’s into women at all,” she hummed both thumbs coming to press against her upper lip as she breathed a gust of fire into her cupped palms. “And I don’t feel that way about her.” 

“I don’t know,” Korra hummed, unconvinced by Haika’s assurance, and looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully, pointer finger tapping her chin, “the way she raced to find you after my conference, pretty suspect.” 

* * *

“How was your lunch?” Lin asked, expression unreadable as she looked up from where she was sitting at her desk, looking through reports. 

Haika opened her jacket immediately upon entering the office, smoothing out the lines of her shirt underneath it for a moment, balancing on one hand the metal container she was currently heating. “It was nice, relaxing,” she smiled, eyes roaming over their collective space, “you should try it sometime.” The chief of police huffed petulantly, lower lip sticking out slightly in a manner which made her partner chuckle. “Anything new on Amon?”

“Just some reports of holding weaponry, but nothing illegal yet. And no violent crime,” Haika hummed quietly, considering her shot at establishing the task force she would need. Seeming to catch onto her pensive spirals, Lin assured her “One day he’ll stick his neck out too far, and we’ll get him.” 

“Well I’ve got rounds with Yue scheduled in 30 minutes, so I’d better get her ready,” Haika spoke, watching the chief glance up from her work again to meet her gaze. She could tell from the way her jaw clenched and unclenched that there was something she wanted to say. Going out on a limb, she spoke; “you’re welcome for bringing you food. Don’t forget to eat it!” She called, as she opened the door to her office.

“Don’t get into too much trouble,” Lin ordered, her brows furrowing into that signature Beifong scowl. Haika’s expression became more serious, nodding reassuringly before closing the door behind her.

* * *

By the time the city lamps had turned on to signify the passing of the sun, Haika had barely managed to teach her waterbending charge how to accelerate properly. Yue was taking to driving a motorbike like a fish took to climbing a tree. But the firebender was surprisingly patient with her slips and always took the time to correct her gently. 

“Hey, look,” Haika pointed down the deserted street, “no one here, so how about I go ahead and you follow me.” Yue, who had been overly cautious, tended to barely accelerate before hitting the brakes too hard, causing her to jerk forward. 

The waterbender, who’s hair had been tied back into an elaborate braid rather than how she usually wore it, nodded slowly at her, still seeming rather unsure of this whole business. “Okay, but don’t leave me behind.” 

“I won’t,” the firebender assured her before starting to drive forward slowly, watching Yue through the mirror attached to the bike’s handlebars to see her move steadily, albeit even slower than her. “You got it!” She yelled back at her, only for her lapse in attention to result in her almost crashing into a van which spun out of a corner alley, followed by three motorbikes. Stopping suddenly, turning her bike sideways, Haika watched the drive off, eyes narrowed. 

“Naga, come!” came an unmistakable voice from where the group of vehicles had just emerged. Haika recognized instantly that if Korra was involved, something must be up.

The police captain glanced back at Yue, who had stopped thunkily just behind her, feet planted firmly on the ground. The officer nodded seriously at her, reassuring that she would be fine. “Call Chief Beifong,” she ordered the younger officer finally, feet lifting off the floor and onto the bike.

And just as the avatar’s polar bear dog burst from the alleyway, carrying on it’s back two people, one of whom must be Korra, Haika revved up her engine to follow them as well.


End file.
